Ichigo ran as fast as he could, a wave of shunpo flashing him to the location he was so desperately trying to get to. And yet, it still wasn't fast enough. He had heard when the Menos Grande broke through the barriers between worlds, it's roar filling the air as it suddenly tore through a wall of the school.
He had his own problems, though, and had to finish off the hollows surrounding him before he could go help anyone else. He clensed the hollows as fast as he could, flashing to the school just seconds later, but he still knew that no matter what happened it would take someone as fast or maybe faster than Yoruichi to make it there in time.
He was going to have to watch his entire class get blown apart by a cero.
His eyes widened, he watched as a wide-eyed Orihime looked up at the Menos. Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion; Inoue was in the direct path of the cero. Even if she managed to put her shun shun rika up in time, she wouldn't be able to stop it.
He watched as suddenly Orihime's eyes slammed closed.
Everyone around her was running, screaming, Tatsuki the only one to run to the girl by the window. To most everyone else it had been an explosion, but Tatsuki could see the Menos.
The rain was pouring down, drenching him, making his clothes heavy and his skin ice cold. He felt like the cold made him slower; he was moving so slowly, one inch in an hour, a foot in a day. He could only watch the red ball of energy crackling to life in the mouth of the monster, aimed at his friend.
She sagged, like she had fainted, though Inoue never had been one to faint under pressure.
And just as soon as she had relazed her body, heading towards the floor, her whole body lined up. She stood with her eyes closed, shoulders back, head held high, chin up just the slightest. Cold and unreachable, and as dignified as possible. Her silvery grey eyes snapped open, her face blank. She looked strait up at the cero.
It was like the rest of the world had metled away, there was no school, or students, or hollow or cero. There was nothing but Inoue, calm and collected, stairing down a gaint red ball of energy that could turn her to ash.
"INOUE!" He knew his scream wouldn't reach her before the cero did.
Rrrrrrrrooooooooooooo-STRRRRRRIIIIIii!
Orihime just calmly lifted a dainty, porcalin hand up, as if to calmly shade her gaze from a ray of sun.
The cero came thundering at her, streaking through the air with unimaginable speeds, Tatsuki screaming just as she reached Orihime's side, screaming to run even though she knew they would both be killed.
And then,
Orihime caught it. She balanced the killing energy in the palm of her fragile hand, like it was nothing more than a small balloon filled with helium. She blinked, once, slowly, not looking at Tatsuki as the girl screamed, holding her hands above her head.
She flicked her wrist, just barely, like she was returning nothing more than a puff of air.
STRIIIIIIIIIIII!
Faster than before, larger than before, more deadly. The cero went sailing back to the sender, crashing into the right side of the hollow and dissolving half of the body.
Ichigo was so surprised, he stopped in mid air, staring in disbelieve. "Inoue?"
The hollow screached, it's roar shattering the remaining windows of the school and causing the earth to tremble. It started to fall back, intent on returning to Hueco Mundo to heal if it could, but it was just falling so slowly when compared to the speed of the returned cero.
Orihime calmly dropped her hand, unscathed, and then finally turned her head to the screaming Tatsuki. She looked at her in disdain, like the martial artist's fear was repulsive. And then she smoothly turned back to the hollow before her and lifted her hand again, her index finger extended, and let loose another attack.
Her Shun Shun Rika light, golden like sunlight, twirled around her finger, collecting and compressing into a tight ball as her attacking fairy spun around and around like it was weaving a ball of yarn.
When it was big enough to be considered a cero of it's own, black flicked around the edges for a second. Then, it went sailing up at the Menos.
There was another hollow wail, and then the monster dissolved into air, collapsing in on its self.
Orihime Inoue had just killed a Menos Grande with her bare hands.